Secrets of Erised
by penspend
Summary: Chapters on what I think different characters would see in the Mirror of Erised. DH and HBP spoilers. Suggestions welcome!
1. Ginny

_**Secrets of Erised**_

**_Time Frame - midway through Ginny's sixth year_**

Ginny walked quietly through the hallways of Hogwarts, the usual despair following her everywhere she went. Angrily trying to shake the imminent feeling of loss off of her shoulders, she absentmindedly took a right turn and ended up at the Room of Requirement. The wall that concealed the door stood menacingly over her, and as she tried to turn around, the door appeared. Puzzled, she stepped through the entrance.

Inside was a dimly-lit room with a giant standing mirror. She walked slowly up to the reflection, wondering, as familiar and not-so-familiar faces appeared.

It was Harry. No, not Harry. He looked older, but his eyes still held that special glimmer. And… it was an older version of herself, too. Harry had an arm on her shoulder, and, gasping, she turned around, hoping to see him.

No one was there.

Feeling like she wanted to cry, Ginny looked back towards the picture. She watched as the Ginny in the mirror put a hand to her rounded stomach. The older-Ginny was pregnant with Harry's child.

The couple in the mirror kissed, and Ginny had to look away, tears streaming down her face. What she wanted most, here, in the mirror…

She wanted to scream Harry's name, make him come back to her and never leave her again. A lump had risen in her throat and she could barely make a sound even if she had wanted to. She yearned for him, even that simple touch on the shoulder that the Harry in the mirror had done to her older self.

She sat down and cried, watching his face through her tear-blurred vision the whole time, envious of that girl in the mirror that she knew was not her.

* * *

**A/N:** Eh, I dislike as much angst and hurt this chapter had, but I can't wait to write the next installment. I'm going to be putting several characters in here that haven't had their deepest desires portrayed, so maybe you could send suggestions for different characters to write? I'm going to do a Ron/Hermione-shipper chapter next, just for fans, and then some unexpected people like Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy or something. Send suggestions, reviews always appretiated! Please and thanks. 


	2. Hermione

_**Secrets of Erised – Part Two**_

**_Time Frame - almost two years after the second war_**

Hermione walked steadily down the same corridor as Ginny had so long ago, although she did not know it now. McGonagall had offered her a job, and, after declining, decided to take a little tour, just for memory's sake. Walking with Ron through these halls, kissing…

She shook the thought from her mind, however, the thought to where she had last seen him. Seeing Harry and Ginny's wedding… standing in those uncomfortable shoes and listening to some old wizard go on about having and holding.

She was sure Ron had given her a wink as the new couple kissed… Harry and Ginny were truly meant for each other, and she supposed that Ron had finally made peace with Harry over that one simple fact. She wondered how the new couple was doing on their _honeymoon_, and the thought made her smirk slightly to herself. What Ron would have thought at the sight of his little sister in a hotel room in America's _Las Vegas_ with the Boy-Who-Lived, _alone_ together… Hermione had a feeling that Ginny would be calling him the _Man_-Who-Lived from then on.

She nearly fell over when the familiar oaken door appeared in the wall beside her. She had almost forgotten about the Room of Requirement; supposedly the surge of emotion had triggered the door to appear? She almost passed it by, but she knew that if she did not take this offer on the last time she would be at Hogwarts, that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Quietly, she stepped into the same darkened room that the only Weasley daughter, now a Potter, had stepped through so many years ago.

She at once recognized the mirror as the Mirror of Erised, but did not know what to make of it. It frightened her, that piece of glass. What _were_ her deepest desires? What did she really want?

She tentatively walked up the mirror, the magic not yet taken effect. Her own face greeted her, then appeared weirdly distorted for a moment. She gasped.

It was her, but older, she could tell. A ginger-haired man stood next to her. Was it… _him_?

A few flame-haired children ran past, and she could almost hear their laughter. What…?

Harry and Ginny walked in, older as well. A mini-Harry stood beside him, surely his son. This was it, her version of a happy family. At peace.

_I _will_ make it real_, she thought, clenching her fists. The older woman in the picture copied her expression: a beaming smile, flashing eyes, and a will to get what she wanted.

* * *

**A/N:** Hermione Takes Charge should be the name of this chapter… haha. She's always been kind of passive to me, never letting herself make the decisions, but she kind of releashed that Warrior-Woman side of her in Deathly Hallows, so I thought I should bring it out again. But I've always seen her with Ron, of course, and children, with Harry and his wife in their lives, the Golden Trio united! Hooray! But we all know what Ron wants. :P Anyway, I couldn't wait to update, I'll probably be releasing two chapters in the time I can write instead of one since they are short. 


	3. Ron

_**Secrets of Erised – Part Three**_

**_Time Frame - two years after second war_**

Ron looked around the familiar hallway. He was here on business reasons, trying to get McGonagall to allow their joke-shop products to be used in classrooms. He wasn't sure that she had agreed, but she had promised to get back with him, and that was a start.

He thought of Hermione as he walked, pausing to maybe say hello to an old portrait or simply reminisce. He wondered if she was doing ok with her life, even though he already knew the answer. With a job at the Ministry, she surely had to be doing well… and at Harry's wedding she seemed to be full of smiles.

_That's the effect you have on her, Ronald_, a voice in his head told him, but for once he did not try to push that voice away.

It had been a lovely wedding, he thought with a sigh. Finally giving up on the neverending quest to prove that Harry wasn't going to love Ginny with all his heart, he was quite happy that his sister had gotten what she had dreamed about since she was eleven. It was uncanny, almost cliché that her fairy-tale ending had happened the way it did.

He was not the least bit surprised by the door materializing out of nowhere. He assumed later that it must have been to the numbness that had enveloped him for that brief period of time, but nevertheless walked through into the same dimly-lit room.

Having seen the Mirror before, he knew what it was and what it did, but he did not know what he would see. His Hogwarts days over, he knew that the picture of the Head Boy and Quidditch Captain would be replaced, but he had no idea as to what the new reflection would show.

Stepping up to the ruby-encrusted mirror, the first shape he could recognize was Fred. The lost brother was smiling, putting an arm around his younger brother.

A pretty young woman stood to his left, and he felt a surge of relief that it was his own Hermione. A golden band circled her ring finger on the hand that was entwined with his own.

Older-Ginny stepped into the picture, beaming, holding hands with a person he knew was surely a future Harry. Around the adults were a few children, a few that he knew must be his own, judging by the flaming hair, the freckles, and the height.

He wanted the brother he had lost forever, and the girl he had been dreaming about since he could remember. He wanted his sister to be happy. He wanted a future for all of them. And it was all within Ron's grasp.

* * *

**A/N:** Can't remember if the real Mirror had rubies or not, but you've got to remember that this isn't the mirror that Harry discovered in his first year, it's different. Um… yeah, three updates in one night, but it only takes me like maybe 20 minutes to do each one. So fun! Anyways, I'm working on some more, they'll probably be posted tomorrow or so… I'm working up towards Harry, he'll be interesting… keep reading, reviews loved! 


	4. Tom Riddle

_**Secrets of Erised - Part Four**_

_**Time Frame - Tom Riddle's fourth year**_

Tom Riddle ran mercilessly through the hallways, hoping he would not be caught for his latest crime. Currently In his fourth year and bursting with arrogance, he had cursed Maria Todd's brades into tentacles that were now attacking her face. _That's what she gets for not lending me her quill,_ he thought with a smirk.

He ducked into a classroom to avoid detection, scanning the room for a desk to hide under, but instead was drawn to the large standing mirror in the center of the room. Something-_Erised_, it read on the frame. The rest was undistinguishable.

He peered into the grame, hoping to catch another glance of his handsome self when something else caught his attention immediately.

It was him, but different. His eyes were scarlet, his nose was slitted. A long snake was settled on his shoulders. His skin was paler than bone and stretched tight against his skull. Around him, a circle of wizards in masks stood, almost bowing. A green skull hung in the air with a snake crawling out of its mouth. There was a boy with a scar; the Tom in the mirror was pressing a wand slowly towards the boy's chest, hoping to cast the curse that would end his life-

The real Tom smiled. What new magic was this?

The future. This was the future. He would be this, this _overlord,_ with his followers, and he would kill this boy that threatened him. He would rule over Wizardkind. He couldn't recognize the boy, but he felt a new surge of hatred towards him for no reason at all.

He watched as the boy slumped, dead, glasses flying off as the jet of green light penetrated his body, the wand in the caster's hand different than his current yew-and-phoenix-feather. He watched as the hundred of bodies he had surely killed fill the frame, suddenly feeling like laughing. It felt great to know that he would have this much _power_ when the time came.

He sauntered out of the classroom, a new sparkle in his eye that had nothing to do with Maria Todd. Nothing, not even _Dumbledore_, would keep him out of this room tonight.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it's so short, but I couldn't think of what else Tom would see other than being powerful. I liked how this turned out, because if it were a part of the true series it would all make sense. He might have grown to be nothing more than a bully if he had not known that what he saw might come true. It would also kind of explain why Dumbledore told Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again; it might have been because he did not want Harry to misunderstand like Tom Riddle had. Idea inspired by **Luna Leo**. By the way, Tom finds it in a classroom because I don't think it would have been moved before Harry discovered it. 


	5. Harry

_**Secrets of Erised - Part Five**_

_**Time Frame - after Snape's memories on the way out through the forest, DH.**_

So this was it. He was going to die.

The thought chilled him like ice water as he walked slowly through the halls, _the last time I will ever walk through them,_ he thought with a shudder.

He continued on his journey toward the door that led to the forest, hopelessness engulfing him with every step. He almost cried out when, just as suddenly as it had not been there, a door had appeared on the wall. Biding his time in the last few minutes he had to live, he pushed open the door.

Seeing the mirror, he almost wanted to run away from it, be anywhere from here. It would only show him what he could not have, what he would want for the rest of his life, even though it consisted of only the few precious moments.

But he would think of what he saw as he died, and he would know that he had done the right thing.

Trying to hold back the lump that had formed in his throat, he walked slowly up to the mirror.

He barely noticed the tears falling as he saw his mother and father before him. How he longed for this terrible burden to be off his shoulders, to have another chance at life where every day could be treated as something other than a death-threat...

His mother embraced his reflection, and he trembled. _Soon, mum, _he could have either thought or whispered, _I'll be with you. You won't have to wait any longer._

The faces of Ron and Hermione appeared before him as well, and he glimpsed their smiles. They were holding hands, finally gotten what they had been waiting for so long. After he was gone, he wanted them to live a good life together. It was what they deserved.

Sirius was standing next to James, smiling. He looked happier and healthier than he had in the short time Harry had known him. Lupin, also looking less shabby, waved at him from inside the frame. _The Marauders reunited_, he thought, cringing at the way it came out in his mind. They had vanished from his life, and just as he thought he was going to actually have a chance at _living_, they disappeared. He almost felt like _he_ was the one in the mirror; trapped, with no way out, watching his family's happy faces on the other side. That _he_ was the reflection, and that there was this whole life that he only saw a window towards

He let out a sob as he saw the perfection of his Ginny in the mirror. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered. His streaming eyes searched her reflection hungrily, drinking in the last he would ever see of his true love on this earth. So many things he had never said, never done, things that he regretted with every ounce of his being. Should have... should have... he hoped that she would move on, find someone else that deserved her when he was gone. He wanted her to be happy, even if it was not with him that she got married to or had her first child with. The Ginny in the mirror took his hand, smiling, but only made him choke back another sob when he knew that her small hand would not be entwined with his for the rest of his life.

He cried even harder when he saw his reflection change into what surely would be his future self. He wanted to live, he wanted to feel, to love, to scream and not care who heard, he wanted everything that he knew would never come to him in this lifetime. He was the child in the candy store, screaming that he wanted all the precious treasures that awaited him on the shelves but getting none.

Blinded by the agony that raged over his body, he sank to his knees as his children laughed around him, only catching the smallest glimpse of his son. The child in the mirror smiled at him; the reflection of the life he could have had.

* * *

**A/N: **I almost succumbed to tears writing this. Just think about it, I mean, he wants everything but he can't have it. I was trying to end it in the way where he would feel happy that he would finally be reunited with his family (including Sirius and Lupin- they were like his father in so many ways). But he wants to _live_. He wants a _future_. Well, I would, anyway. Please tell me what you think of this depressing chapter that made me so very sad in so many ways. 


	6. Dumbledore

_**Secret of Erised – Part Six**_

_**Time Frame – the night that Dumbledore reveals himself to Harry in the room that containted the Mirror of Erised in Harry's first year**_

Albus Dumbledore hastily grabbed his Deliuminator and clicked it. The lights appeared. He sighed in relief. The back of his neck was drenched in cold sweat.

Sitting on his bed, he decided to take a stroll in the corridors to rid himself of his reoccuring nightmare. Getting out and sliding on his slippers, Fawkes chirped quietly and landed on his shoulder.

Albus thought about shooing her away, but decided against it. He needed company.

Many of the portraits in his office were asleep, so he quietly shut the door to his bedroom and made little sound, but he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Phineas Nigellus.

"Out again, Albus?" the portrait said.

"I cannot sleep," Albus whispered so as not to wake the portraits around him. "Just thought a nighttime stroll would help."

"As it always will," Phineas said, looking away.

Albus waited, but the portrait did not say anything else, so he glided out of the office and slipped down the stairs. The portraits were one thing, but the whole school was another.

He meandered slowly, his mind far away from him. Around him, suits or armor and sculptures slept. The stained-glass figures who never slept eyed him curiously. He was constantly being watched and constantly being ignored, even by pieces of art. Never alone, yet in a sea of strangers.

Fawkes left his shoulder and flew back towards the office; she was tired. He could not blame her, but it was now that he needed to be alone.

He passed a few classrooms, then stopped. A silver glow was coming from one, and he took a peek inside. The small form of Harry Potter, sitting in front of the Mirror. He was crosslegged, smiling, as Albus was sure he saw his parents in that mirror.

He cast a Disillusionment charm over himself and glided through the door. The boy appeared to not have noticed.

He wanted to take a seat in the back and watch the boy, but stepping closer to the large frame, he turned and smiled.

Ariana, waving at him, smiling. She looked older, and happy. His mother, Kendra, alive. His father, Percival, smiling and waving with the others, looking younger and fitter than Albus had last seen him before the Dementors changed his body and soul.

He saw Aberforth, almost as happy as his father appeared to be, with an arm around his big brother, who had suddenly transformed into a much younger version of himself. Although the mirror did not show it, he was sure that Voldemort was vanquished, too.

He wasn't sad, just merely glad to see his family again. His family that had been taken away, much like the young boy's in front of him…

"Back again, Harry?" he said quietly, reversing the Disillusionment charm.

* * *

**A/N:** Eh, just like Harry, I always pictured old Dumby seeing his family in the mirror. I put that Aberforth was taken away because they never saw each other while living, just so it would kind of make sense. Anyway, I'm going to be doing Snape and some of the Marauders, I'm trying to think of different ways they could stumble upon the mirror. Thanks for all the reviews, keep 'em coming, suggestions WILL be taken into consideration! 


	7. Snape

_**Secrets of Erised – Part Seven**_

_**Time Frame – December 1981**_

He had honestly thought of ending it, right then. To point that wand right at himself and watch that jet of green light hit his frail body. To feel his life ebbing away.

But if it weren't for Dumbledore, he'd have done it the moment he heard. _Severus, you're better than that_, the old man had said, concern etched in the lines of his withered face.

He'd loved her and only her from the time that they were children, and he watched her with dark eyes as she grew into the beautiful young woman he knew she would be. And he could only watch wth a heavy heart as she slowly and steadily fell in love for James Potter. He had been invited to their wedding, but did not go. He couldn't bear to see his Lily Evans blossom into Lily Potter.

And yet here he stood, deep in depression in the halls of Hogwarts.

Her death had seemed eminent for him; he knew that good things never lasted. She was his flower, with the petals slowly plucked off until nothing was left but an ugly withered stem. Yet she was beautiful in death, perfect in any and every way.

He knew the boy was alive, but it would make no difference to him. He was Harry James Potter, and any male Potter deserved about as much hatred as anyone could give in his book.

He blindly stumbled towards his classroom when a silvery glow caught his eye. It was almost pulsating from behind a door, and he slowly walked towards it.

It was a mirror, high as the ceiling, standing there. In its splendor, he barely noticed his feet walking of their own accord towards it. He knew nothing would come of his reflection, nothing he hadn't already seen before. But it wouldn't hurt.

He stepped up to the mirror, and took a step backwards at the sight. Lily Evans was there, holding his hand.

He looked around wildly, searching for her, needing her. Hope had lessened the pull at his heart, but had drifted away as the depression took hold of him again.

He looked younger and more fit than he had ever seen himself in the reflection. He rolled up his right sleeve, gazing at the Dark Mark that stung slightly on his forearm. The reflection showed nothing but bare skin.

Sighing, he stepped closer. Lily… Lily… Lily… He could have been whispering or just thinking the name, and how it suited her perfectly.

And suddenly, he knew the way forward.

**A/N:** I liked this, kind of. Snape wanted her and only her, and to get rid of the terrible burden of being Lord Voldemort's servant, I would think. This is about three months after Lily died (if you can't do the math) so he's still aching for her but not as bad as before. Um… I'll be working on Neville and Luna here in a bit, might put them in one chapter. No, I will not encourage any Neville/Luna romance, as I accept that they are purely friends, but… anyway, review review review! Thanks for reading!


	8. Author's Note

OK, I really can't think of anything else to write about, and the story is personally getting boring for me. I've taken the initiative to make a list for the characters and what I think they see, instead of inserting more individual chapters. Sorry for the inconvience.

_Bellatrix Lestrange_ – with Voldemort and being his eternal servant

_Neville Longbottom_ – his parents sane again, surrounded by friends

_Luna Lovegood_ – her mother, having more friends

_George Weasley_ – Fred, having a good and successful life

_Molly Weasley_ – all of her family older and well, surrounded by grandchildren

_Arthur Weasley_ – head of his department at the Ministry, surrounded by Muggle items, along with his family

_Draco Malfoy_ – without the Dark Mark, not a part of Voldemort's reign

_Lily Evans_ – James Potter, Snape still her friend…?

_James Potter_ – Lily, his children

I would do some of Harry's children, but the plot line isn't developed enough for them to really have any obvious desires. Thanks for reading!


End file.
